Subte Robbery Alert (C Line)

[fvrconst]

a "local" I know (and with whom I've done business) was robbed of $48,000 USD when leaving a bank after an escritura.

I don't try to be smart especially afterward, but if I had a transaction in this amount the least thing I'd do is to ask at least two friends to come with me. If not asking some professional security guy.

The best way to avoid being a victim of crime in BA is not to come in the first place. It is far more dangerous than most people realize: about 50% of those who responded to the survey about crime in BA indicated that they were victims. I think those are pretty bad odds, even if many of the crimes were considered "minor" in nature. Some of the expats who have been victims of more "violent" crimes "moved " to BA (and into less desireable areas like Monserrat) without a clue of the potential dangers.

With all due respect I think you're extremely exaggerating to the point of hard to take your comment seriously. Yes, if everyone stayed in their homes or only in their hopefully safe neighborhood, then the chances are less of become victims. We can bury ourselves into underground bunkers, pile up months of supplies, then the present and the future won't push us into the endless pit of fear.

Naturally the stories must be told but I don't think any survey on this site returns any useful or valid result of how much one should scare the sh.t out of him or herself in BsAs.

 

[fvrconst]

And how many people in Argentina who live at street level (in houses or apartments, regardless of the location) have bars on their windows or "anti-robo" cutrains?

Not even ONE of my friends or relatives in the USA have them.

It's pretty common in Europe. In the Middle and Eastern-Europe definitely but I've seen it many times in Germany, France and GB too.

I don't think this makes Argentina worse.

 

[fifs2]

I love Buenos Aires, but the police here make me gag.[/quote]

As a similar type of appt. break-in happened to my friends who were out of the appt for 2 hours Im inclined to agree on the police unwillingness to really investigate what are seemingly obvious crime connections. This said, like an idiot I was robbed in a distraction robbery on my 1st day here in 2004. I lost my grandmothers engagement ring amongst other things and felt like an idiot but the San Telmo police (at that time) were super attentive, asking us for identifying pictures of the gang (mother, daughter, father son) and even the police chief got involved in showing me pictures of possible culpits. Bottom line i didnt get my stuff back but in hindsight the police were far from indifferent. This was in Jan 2004 whe there were hardly any tourists as compared to now. We newbies are always so gullible so maybe the police are just weary of so many tourist crimes.